Efficient frame tracking in mobile receivers

A method for determining the validity of a most significant path in a wireless communication system wherein data is transmitted in frame units in a multipath environment begins by accumulating a correlated data sequence N times, each time at a frame offset apart from the previous time. A preliminary noise estimate (PNE) is calculated as an average of the accumulated data values. A preliminary noise threshold (PNT) is calculated according to the equation C1×PNE. A final noise estimate (FNE) is calculated as the average of accumulated data values below the PNT. A final noise threshold (FNT) is calculated according to the equation C2×FNE. The validity of the most significant path is determined if the most significant path value is greater than the FNT.